Panthers Wire Mailbag: Preparing for life without Jonathan Stewart

Panthers Wire Mailbag: Preparing for life without Jonathan Stewart

After a remarkable 10-year run, today the Carolina Panthers cut running back Jonathan Stewart, their all-time leading rusher.

Now, fans are wondering what the future holds for the backfield.

Stewart is the focus of our latest Panthers Wire Mailbag, along with questions about Andrew Norwell, the draft and free agency, courtesy of readers from our Facebook page.

Let’s dive right in.

Tyrell Payton asked: Will the Panthers be looking for a between the tackles back now we have released J-Stew?

While it’s clear that Christian McCaffrey is going to become the team’s new No. 1 running back, we’d be surprised if they don’t add another between-the-tackles runner at some point this offseason.

As far as free agents go, we really like LeGarrette Blount as a fit for the Panthers, but he is 31 years old. Chris Ivory is another guy who has the build they like for the position. However, most likely Marty Hurney will look to replace Stewart with a mid-to-late-round draft pick at the end of April. Cheaper, fresher legs are the name of the game here.

Depending on who Carolina goes after, Fozzy Whittaker and Cameron Artis-Payne may be on the cutting block this summer when the roster really begins to take shape. They will have to step up their game and compete with a back who is likely to be younger and more powerful.

Joshua Strickler asked: With these cuts are we more likely to sign Norwell or spend the money elsewhere on FA?

Cutting Kurt Coleman, Charles Johnson and Stewart saved the Panthers about $10 million in cap space for next season, which is an excellent start to a new era for Hurney.

However, the problem is that Norwell can probably command even more than that on the open market. It’s difficult to overstate how terrific he was both in run blocking and pass protection last season and that will make him a hot commodity next month for a number of teams. Keeping Norwell was always going to be extremely tough, no matter how much cap room Carolina cleared up.

As much as they’d like to keep Norwell, they already have a ton of money tied up with Trai Turner, and investing that many resources at guard just isn’t very smart in today’s NFL.

Fortunately, the 2018 draft class is supposed to be really deep at guard, so the Panthers will have an opportunity to pick a potential high-quality replacement on Day 1 or 2.

Alex Stauch asked: Are the Panthers in the running for a trade with Miami for Jarvis Landry?

Landry would naturally make an excellent addition to the Panthers’ wide receiver corps, but bringing him in is unlikely for the same reasons it will be hard to keep Norwell.

The franchise tag Miami placed on Landry will pay him over $16 million for next year and any long-term contract he signs will likely be in that same price range annually.

If you add up the numbers, Carolina simply can’t make the math work to bring in a marquee receiver like Landry. This is another area we expect Hurney to address in the draft as opposed to free agency or a trade.

Jermaine Lattimer asked: Are you going to draft a offensive lineman to protect Cam on the right side???

We probably won’t be drafting anybody, but the Panthers might.

Then again, Daryl Williams did an excellent job at right tackle last season, which was a pleasant surprise. Carolina’s offensive line might have completely fallen apart on the right side without him considering the off-year from Turner.

Protecting Newton has to be a priority – but the left tackle spot is the real issue. The problem there is that Matt Kalil’s awful, horrible, no-good, way-too-big contract makes him impossible to move at this point. They’ll have to hope Kalil either dramatically improves or Taylor Moton can step up and take his place as a starter.

Josh Mark Veyna asked: Would it be smart to draft a safety first then wide out, running back, tight end, then defense?

The idea of taking a safety early is a solid one and is not being talked about enough. It’s an area that Carolina has neglected far too long and that showed through on the field last year in a major way. Last year, Dave Gettleman had several chances to land a starting safety in a deep draft class of them and he blew it.

The rest of the order here makes a lot of sense as far as the Panthers’ priorities go, but we’d prefer they take a defensive end in the first or second round before jumping in to tackle the other holes on the roster. Julius Peppers won’t be around much longer and soon they’ll have to find a young pass rusher with the potential to produce 10 sacks or more a year.